"Table Talk"

As you enter our sanctuary, I invite you to look at the last stained glass window along the aisle at the right of the church. Just before the transept on the right is the window depicting our Lord’s last meal in the upper room. Below the image is the caption, “This do in remembrance of me”. The Bible may indicate many things we are supposed to do, but only two activities reach the level of sacramental activity with God. One of those is the Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion.

Have you ever noticed how much we seem to love to eat? Now, I know the Bible says that when two or three are gathered together, God is in the midst of  them, but my experience also says that when you get two or three Presbyterians together, a meal is about to break out. I love all the casseroles, dishes, and desserts that appear when we have a pot luck dinner. Why even the finest restaurants in town cannot hold a candle to a good old fashioned church pot luck lunch or dinner. There is something wonderful about gathering together for a meal. Why is that?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer might have the answer. In his book, Letters and Papers from Prison, he writes,   “Perhaps the reason why we attach so much importance to sitting down to table together is that table fellowship is one of the realities of the Kingdom of God.” Charles Ringma comments on Bonhoeffer’s words, “….eating together reminds us of our need to be sustained, of our dependence on God as the gracious Provider of the things we need, and of the joy of fellowship and companionship. In the context of such hospitality, not only can we be ourselves, but we can also be enriched for the journey ahead of us.”  

We will be gathering around the Lord’s table this Sunday. We will break bread and drink from the cup of salvation. It will be just as Bonhoeffer suggested and Jesus promised, a glimpse of what it will be like when we all gather together for God’s heavenly banquet. Hope to see you Sunday as together we experience a taste of heaven.